Sunday 9 November 2008

Traditinal Chinese Medicine(TCM)


I have had incidents when walking around Cambridge, I've been approached by strangers thought that I am Korean, my neighborhood kids thought I am Japanese, people at work thought I'm from mainland China, only people who knows me knew that I'm a true bred Malaysian Chinese.
Having said that, I'm close to what is known as "banana Chinese". Hope not :-)
At least from gastronomy point of view, I'm quite rooted to Chinese origin. I'm introduced to traditional Chinese herbs since young, especially my mom is a stern believer of TCM. She used to brew TCM soup of all kind, i.e soup for strengthening brain power before big exams, soup for strengthening one immune system, soup for strengthening this and that. Some are tasty(esp those with Chinese herbs) and some are awful(especially involving some dry insects....eeks). Even nowdays when I called back home, she reminded me to make TCM soup since winter months just around the corner.
So I decided to make Ching Po Leung Soup(清補凉). In Cantonese, the meaning of ching are pure, clean, and clear; while po can mean repair, patch, mend, and nutritious. Leung means either cool or cold. Taken together, the overall meaning is a cooling, nutritious tonic to clean and repair the body. Ching Po Leung is purported to be good for the stomach, spleen and lungs, it's also said to reduce phlegm.



In this soup(Ching Po Leung) the main ingredients:
  • Chinese Yam(20gm)-nourishes the spleen, stengthen the lungs, reinforces the kidneys and replenishes vital essence
  • Lily Bulb(20gm)-nourishes the yin and the lungs. Soothes coughing
  • Dry longan(30gm)-replenishes the heart and the spleen, enriches vital energy and the blood, tranquilizes the mind
  • White fungus(20gm)-nourishes the yin and the lungs. Strengthens the stomacand quenches thirst.
  • Solomon's seal(20gm)-nourishes vital essence, relieves anxiety and quenches thirst.
  • Lotus seed(20gm)-strengthens the spleen and promotes appetite.
  • Euryale(20gm)-reinforces the kidneys and invigorates vital esence, strengthens the spleen and relieves diarrhea
  • Pearl barley(20gm)-strengthen the spleen and induces diuresis
  • Rock sugar (30gm)
  • Pork rib ( 400gm)
Method
  1. Bring to slow boil all ingredients with pork rib with 7 bowls of water.
  2. Simmer for 2-3 hours.
  3. Add salt to taste and add a bit of rock sugar
  4. Served with rice or drink on its own.

5 comments:

Algernond said...

Reduces Phlegm? Strengthens the lungs?

Why didn't you bring me any?

Anonymous said...

I've never had savoury ching poh leong. Mine's always the sweet 'tong sui' type.
Yup, I can vouch that TCM works!
You need extra brain power? Take pigs brain soup. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sorry-ya, a day late...

Christine Toh said...

Fen, yes you can make the desserts like Ching Po Leung.
Thank you for the B-day wish, better late than never aye.

For Algernond: You're getting better so don't need he soup any longer :-)

Unknown said...

TCM has been very effective in the treatment of diseases such as cardio-cerebro-vascular, immunogenic, tumors, bone fracture, etc. Scientific research and clinic experiments in TCM are continuously progressing. Successes have been made in many of the areas such as in circulating paths of meridians; in Zheng-syndrome, in diagnostic indexes; in therapeutic principles, in healing emergency patients with shock, acute DIC, acute myocardial infarction and acute renal failure.
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oliviaharis
smm